I met with Marsh Insurance Brokers, the preferred insurer of AILA, and landscape architects who are members of AILA can now receive Professional Indemnity cover.

It is now also clear that there are other brokers willing to provide Professional Indemnity cover to landscape architects, however, unfortunately this interest does not extend to play equipment suppliers, risk assessors and playground related busineses.

I have discussed this issue with Planned Cover Insurance Brokers who is happy to hear from landscape architects seeking cover. Blackburn Insurance Brokers and Bendigo Insurance Brokers, both of whom may be worth contacting if you re struggling to find appropiate cover.

So the crisis remains for the playground industry, as it appears that the insurance industry thinks, inspite of all evidence to the contrary, that the risks involved in our industry are significant.

I will keep you posted of further developments.

Nature Play Week 14-25 April 2021

"Over the past 30 years, we have moved indoors and screen spaces have replaced green places. Use of television, computers, the internet and smartphones, increased parental fear, poor urban planning and more highly structured play and supervision keep kids from playing outside."

Nature Play Week is all about the antidote to these issues. Getting kids into nature, giving them the opportunity to create a sense of wonder.  Nature play encourages kids and parents to see the natural environment as a place to enjoy, play, imagine, relax and explore.

Organised by Kids in Nature Network.

A local primary school in Melbourne supported by Bicycle Network is taking the lead to support children to ride or walk to school.  

Featured in The Age, Brunswick East Primary School is banning cars within 200 metres of its front gate to encourage children to exercise more and to alleviate the traffic jams around the school. Giving children the opportunity to walk and ride to school builds resilience, independence and a greater sense of security in their local community.  

(photo by Chris Hopkins - Brunswick East Primary School mother Trish Lloyd with her children Joni, Max and friends Olive and Marlowe)

This is our 2 day 'must-attend' face-to- face training session for industry and Local Government, to support the quality design, development and management of play spaces in Australia.

Our presenters are leaders in their field and have unrivalled expertise and experience in the key areas of Australian Standards, design and maintenance of play equipment and facilities. This is an invaluable networking opportunity for participants across industry.

Spaces are still available in our 28 -29 April sessions. 

As part of our Risk Management Hub, Play Australia has manufactured this specialised entrapment tool for the benefit of our members.   

This all-in-one finger probe tool has 8, 8.6, 12 and 25mm diameter sections, available to support professionals to assess play spaces for finger entrapment risk.

A discount is available for Play Australia members.

Promoting play is a critical feature in every child's life. For example, I ask people who are 40 + what was your playground in year 2 at school, they can all tell me. I ask them can you remember their teacher's name. I don’t get many answers to that question.

Play just doesn’t develop physical skills, underneath all that there are lots of mental skills developed and tested.

I have developed a platform called Playground 123 based on my 20 years in the playground construction industry and also playground auditing the last 5 years. The platform is a three step process based on the principals of Identify, Manage and Elimate.

"Knowing that most of the key leaders in the industry are associated with Play Australia, it also brings a better understanding to me about other aspects of playgrounds and play in general which, I otherwise would probably not get." Robert Fleming

Making a commitment to become a member of Play Australia is a recognition that you support the value of play. 

Play Australia is the national peak body for play and the Australian representative for the International Play Association.